March 30, 2020 - On Friday, Nashville reported 312 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and two deaths. By Monday, the numbers released by Mayor Cooper's office (asafenashville.org) have risen to 443 cases with 3 deaths, 80 recovered and 360 active cases with 14 hospitalized. The mayor said this is a critical time in our efforts to flatten the curve and noted area hospitals and first responders are counting on citizens to follow the Safer at Home order.

The city also has two community testing sites up and running. "The Office of Emergency Management and Metro Public Health Department, in cooperation with our local healthcare providers, have been working to develop a community assessment system to support the screening testing and resources that area hospital already have in place throughout Nashville. We have successfully launched our first two community assessment centers - one location at Nissan Stadium in lot N ... and one location at Meharry Medical College at 918 21st Ave. N. These two sites are open as of this morning," said Mayor Cooper.

He added final preparations are underway to open the third assessment site at the former K-Mart store in Antioch with a targeted opening date of Wednesday, April 1. All three sites will be open 9 am-3 pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday until further notice. Cooper said other assessment site locations are being considered at this time.

Before going to an assessment site, residents must first call the COVID-19 phone number at 615.862.7777 for an initial assessment by a public health professional (open daily 7 am-7 pm with staff available for both English and Spanish translation). If they determine the caller should proceed through the system, the public health professional will direct the caller to proceed to one of the assessment centers, where the individual will be further screened and, if required, tested. Cooper again stressed the first step is to call the COVID hotline.

Also over the weekend, staff and patients were evacuated from the Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing in neighboring Sumner County after an outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Two residents have died and more than 100 staff and residents have tested positive for COVID-19. Patients have been transported to Sumner Regional Medical Center and other hospital facilities in the HIgh Point Health System.

Statement from High Point Health System:

HighPoint Health System continues to accept and evaluate patients from the Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing. We have mobilized our emergency response team, and we have already implemented plans that immediately - and significantly - increased capacity across our health system. Our hospital in Gallatin, Sumner Regional Medical Center (SRMC), has been treating patients for COVID-19, and our critical care team has prepared several additional units to accommodate the steep increase in patients requiring isolation. Our sister facilities, Riverview Regional Medical Center, Trousdale Medical Center and Livingston Regional Hospital are available to provide acute care to patients not requiring the critical care team at SRMC, as well as extended "step-down" care for discharged senior patients who may be unable to return to a nursing facility.

To date:

• 97 have been admitted to the isolation unit at Sumner Regional Medical Center.
• 2 are deceased.
• 3 non-critical patients have been transported to Riverview Regional Medical Center for care.

Our hearts are with the residents and their families and all of those mourning loved ones during this difficult time.

We are working in close partnership with the Tennessee Department of Health, and would recommend that questions related specifically to the testing status of staff members and residents at GCRH be directed to them, as they will continue to be the most accurate and comprehensive source for this information.

Tennessee Statewide Info

Tennessee Department of Health numbers updated on March 30, report 1,834 positive tests for the novel coronavirus, 148 hospitalizations and 13 deaths. The state figures tend to lag behind specific county numbers as cases are first reported by labs to the impacted county and then numbers are sent on to the state. Currently, the state shows Davidson County at 364 cases, whereas the city is reporting 443.

While Governor Bill Lee announced Executive Order 22, a statewide 'Safer at Home' order closing non-essential businesses, he then went on to say it wasn't a 'mandate' but more of a strongly worded suggestion. This half-hearted 'order' comes after 1,500 physicians statewide sent a letter to the governor urging him to institute a shelter-in-place mandate. Tennessee continues to see increases in confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. This same time last week, the state reported 615 cases and 2 deaths.